More Than Enough
by 2queens1prince
Summary: A one shot based on a lilacmermaid prompt. An origin story.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I've started putting the prompts at the end of the writing because so many of my stories are going different directions and then coming back to the prompt. I don't want people to be distracted by what the prompt is. I hope that's okay. Please let me know what you think.

Henry McCord was in awe as he navigated the walkway at the Natural Bridge Zoo. He couldn't keep the smile from covering his entire face as he watched his girlfriend skip a few yards ahead of him. "Come on Henry! What are you waiting for?" she called, as she spun around. She didn't miss a beat, continuing to skip, only backwards now. Henry laughed and took the three giant steps to catch up to her. He caught her off guard when he lifted her off the ground and spun her in circles. As he set her down, she laughed joyously, her face flushed red. Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, they walked to the elephant exhibit.

Henry looked down and pressed a kiss to the top of his girlfriend's head. He thought back to just nine months ago when he first met her. Henry was always late to lunch on Thursdays. He had a late class he taught and barely caught the tail end of the cafeteria's noon meal. He looked around and there were only a handful of people left, and most seemed to already be deep in discussion, so he made his way over to a blonde sitting by herself reading. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked. "I don't much like to eat by myself if I can help it." She looked up from her book and smiled.

"Sure. Just let me finish this one part. I don't want to lose my train of thought." Henry placed his tray opposite her, took his rain jacket off, hung it on the chair next to him and sat down. Within moments, the woman had closed her book and extended her hand across the table. "I'm Elizabeth Adams."

Henry smiled. "Henry McCord. Nice to meet you." Being almost done, she finished her meal rather quickly, but stayed and chatted while he finished his. They talked about all sorts of things and Henry thought that it was one of the nicest conversations he'd had in a long time. They left together and parted ways in front of the building. "Thanks for hanging out with me. It was nice. Maybe we could do it again sometime?" Henry had thrown it out there, hoping she would take the hint and share her phone number.

Instead she gave him a shy smile. "Maybe," she said, and turned and walked down the sidewalk. Henry stood rooted in his spot until she was out of sight. He sighed. That was a good lunch.

Henry spent most of the next week thinking about Elizabeth, but based on her comment, he wasn't sure she was as impressed with him as he was her. But there was no way that he could mask the excitement he had when he walked into the cafeteria, late the following Thursday and she was sitting at the same table. He walked straight to her. "Hey!" A wide smile covered his face.

"If it's okay, I thought I'd have that lunch with you," she said. When she spoke, there was the tiniest sparkle in her eyes and Henry thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

They met that way, each Thursday for two months. Henry dropped hints, but she never offered him more until the day she let it slip. "I look forward to this, seeing you, eating lunch. It's the best part of my week."

"Mine too," he said seriously. She looked up, wide eyed, as if she was surprised that the thought had actually escaped her lips. "I'd like it if maybe we expanded this, to say dinner, Saturday night, somewhere besides the cafeteria."

She tensed and stayed that way for a moment and then her mouth opened like she wanted to answer but couldn't. Henry was afraid he'd overstepped, that she really didn't like him in the way that he liked her. He tried to quickly figure out a way to somehow take it back or brush it off when she said, "Yes, I'd like that."

"You would?" A smile bloomed across Henry's face. She nodded, and he could see the sparkle, just a tiny bit larger than before.

One dinner became two and by the end of the next month, they were inseparable. Henry loved Elizabeth and as the sparkle grew in her eyes, he knew that he was growing on her too. She had endured a lot of heartache. It caused her to be cautious, guarded. It was impossible to be hurt so deeply and not be affected by it. Elizabeth wore it well. No one would ever know. It was only in the quiet of the night in their fifth month that she lay tucked in his arms and told him about her parents and how the loss changed how she viewed life and how scared she was of what was happening between them. She wasn't sure what she would do if she lost him too. Henry stayed silent and held her close, not daring to make a sound, lest she realized that she wasn't just thinking, she was speaking out loud. Elizabeth was opening up to him.

It was during their sixth month, the first time he touched her intimately, he was desperate to make her see how special she was, how much he loved her. She was willing, eager even, but he knew he'd only had her body. Her mind held back, protecting her heart.

Only last week, he thought he'd pushed her too hard, too fast. The words "I love you," rolled off his tongue before he could think about the ramifications of sharing that with her. It wasn't that he didn't love her, but he was afraid of what knowing it would do to Elizabeth. She froze. He saw the tears try to force their way out. "I-I'm not there yet." Her words were reasonably calm, but her eyes darted wildly, wondering what would happen if she didn't return the words.

"It's okay. I don't ever want you to think you have to do something you aren't ready to do. I do love you, and I hope with all of my heart that one day you will love me. But that doesn't have to be today, or next week, or even next year. I always show up for you, Elizabeth Adams. Always."

She whispered her thanks and they went on about their day. After hiking and having a picnic, he pulled in front of her apartment to drop her off. "Do you want to come up?" she asked. He nodded, parked the car and followed her up the stairs.

They dropped their things on the table in the combination living/dining room and she stepped in close to him. Henry was confused. Elizabeth wasn't normally forward and he could tell she was having trouble overcoming her nervousness about whatever it was that she wanted to say or do. "What babe?" he whispered, holding her.

She fidgeted in her spot before balling her hands into fists, gathering her courage. "I want us to-" She stopped and let out a breath and took Henry's hands in her own. "I want to make love Henry. I can't say it, but I can show you."

Henry started to shake his head to tell her that she didn't need to feel like she had to, but he stopped himself. She wanted to, because she loved him. He wouldn't brush it off, making her feel like it wasn't enough. He held his hand out and she took it, leading them to the bedroom.

After, when she was asleep in his arms, Henry cried because she finally gave in to her feelings and let herself be fully present with him. It was the most beautiful gift he'd ever been given.

Henry was brought back to the present when they walked through a cooling mist spray. Elizabeth started to pull away. "There they are Henry. It's the elephants." She leaned over the railing in an attempt to get as close as possible. When Henry placed his hands on her waist, she turned into him, suddenly wrapping her arms around him tightly. "You make me so happy," she mumbled into his chest. Tears sprung to his eyes at her words and he kissed her.

"That's all I want to do for the rest of my life," he said. They rested their heads together and Henry reveled in the thought that Elizabeth just told him that she loved him in her own way. And she did love him. He didn't need to hear the words, when he had Elizabeth.

Madam Secretary Prompt: Long before she was able to tell him that she loved him, Elizabeth told Henry, "You make me so happy", and that was just as good in his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

AN: This is just for mobazan27. I'll be patiently waiting for that check from the GoFundMe account (although ive already been informed the balance is somewhat lacking).

Elizabeth paced the lounge in the entryway of her apartment building. Tonight was the night. Henry was taking her out for dinner and dancing. She'd promised herself to gather the courage to say it out loud. "I love you," she practiced in her head. "I love you," she repeated. It's just three little words and you already know he loves you. Why can't you say it?"

Elizabeth grimaced. Of course she knew why she couldn't say it. It had been years since those words left her mouth. Her mother's last words to her, "I love you," were followed by her own "shut the door." An opportunity lost. She had replayed that scene in her mind no less than a million times. Each time returning the phrase, reiterating the obvious. Of course she loved her mother, both of her parents, but in that moment, she knew that her refusal to say it aloud pierced her mother's heart. And then she died. Saying it to someone else seemed like sacrilege. Elizabeth had screwed up and no longer deserved the honor of either being loved or loving someone else.

High school was challenging. Not only was she grieving, but she was in an unfamiliar place. She strived to make the best of it, to make her parents proud. When she received a full scholarship to the University of Virginia, her parents' alma mater, she finally felt like she had achieved something worthwhile.

It was only the second Thursday of classes when she arrived at the cafeteria late and chose to sit alone rather than insinuate herself into a group that was already there. She had only just settled herself in with her book when a strikingly handsome man asked if he could sit with her. She immediately answered yes, in spite of what her normal response would be. Elizabeth was glad she did. It was an interesting and animated conversation, arguably the best time she'd had since arriving on campus. Henry McCord had hinted at repeating their lunch date and getting her phone number, but that was a level of familiarity she did not want to pursue.

However over the course of the next week, Mr. McCord kept creeping into her thoughts. Each time, she pushed it back, not allowing the sandy haired, brown eyed man to take over. Yet, when the following Thursday rolled around, she found herself waiting to go to the cafeteria, on the off chance she might run into him. She sat down in the same spot, away from the crowds and waited.

She wasn't even sure he would be there, but the happiness that enveloped him when he saw her waiting made joy bubble up inside her. Elizabeth did her best to tamp it down. It was just lunch. There were no expectations of anything beyond just that. Yet, even as she repeated these things over and over. Henry McCord was working his way into her heart.

One day a couple months in, she let it slip that their lunches were her favorite part of the week and before she knew what was happening, her heart made a date for Saturday evening. Her brain was quick to pull back the reins. A relationship was not part of any plan she'd made. She tried to maintain her bearings, keep her heart at a safe distance, but little by little, as the months went by, Henry McCord won her over.

Elizabeth was now faced with an entirely different problem. It had taken a while, but she had come to terms with loving him, but being able to vocalize it was so much harder than she thought it would be. She'd been trying to say it for months. But, tonight was their first anniversary and she was determined to make it happen.

Elizabeth continued to pace the lounge waiting for Henry, unaware that he stood, leaning in the doorway, watching her, muttering to herself. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked, startling Elizabeth from her thoughts.

"Just waiting for you," she said, brushing her insecurities away. She plastered on a smile and walked up to him, her heels diminishing the height difference considerably. She easily pecked him on the lips. "Let's go."

The pair sat close in the back of a small Italian restaurant, holding hands under the table while they waited for their food. Elizabeth had the opportunity twice to say the words she'd practiced in the moments before Henry picked her up, but each time, she stopped after the "I" and filled the rest of the sentence with meaningless drivel, inwardly chastising herself.

After their plates were cleared, they were still engrossed in conversation. Henry had one arm draped lazily over the back of her chair, his thumb rubbing the space between her shoulder blades while he poured her another glass of wine. When her eyes met his, she opened her mouth to speak, but Henry, caught off guard by her beauty, pulled her toward him and whispered against her lips, "I love you."

Her heart screamed, "I love you," but she pulled away from him, dropping her head and staring into her lap.

"Does it bother you when I say that?" he asked.

She shook her head, whispering, "No."

"Good, because it would be very hard for me to stop, because I do love you Elizabeth Adams, and you deserve every happiness I can possibly give you." Elizabeth closed her eyes and willed the tears behind her lids to stay unshed. Finally, she looked up and met his intense gaze before kissing him, softly at first, and then more passionately.

"Do you really want to go dancing?" she asked, her thumb tracing circles on the back of the hand she held.

Henry surveyed his girlfriend. "I would go, but if you'd rather we do something else, I'm game."

"I think I'd rather just go back to your place and spend some quiet time together, if that's alright." Elizabeth spoke softly, but there was a pleading in her voice that Henry caught immediately. He stood and offered her his hand. She downed her glass of wine and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

He drove them back to his apartment and led her inside. After another glass of wine, she tucked herself close to his side. "Henry, I-" she paused. "Enjoyed dinner. Thank you," she finished. Henry pressed his nose to her hair inhaling her scent before kissing the spot where her hairline met her temple. She shifted around to face him. She looked apprehensive. "I-will you take me to bed?" Her insides were knotted and she grew more frustrated with herself.

"Are you sure? I don't expect that." Henry surveyed Elizabeth and had found her to be unsettled all evening.

"Please," her voice was full of want but Henry also sensed a kind of need and he yearned to fulfill her longing. Pulling his arm from behind her, he offered his hand to help her stand.

Kissing her gently, he held her tight as he walked the both of them to his room. Afterwards they lay tangled together, with her back fitted against his chest. Henry could tell she was still dealing with something, so he waited, quietly, and listened.

Elizabeth clutched Henry's hand to her chest and breathed out, long and slow. She, then, pulled his hand up to her mouth and kissed his fingertips. He felt the tears slide down her cheeks and it took everything he had not to turn her over and beg her to let him in.

Agonizing minutes passed, and finally, she spoke, her voice, low and shaky. "My mom left that day and when she told me she loved me, I didn't say it back. Since then, I felt like-no I still feel like I am not deserving of love. And, to have you love me, opened my heart again. Now, I've fallen for you and I never thought that three little words would be so hard to say to someone. I've wanted to tell you for a while but it's like I just can't get those words to pass my lips."

Henry wanted to tell her that it didn't matter, that he knew she loved him without hearing it. He just wanted to spare her the pain of dealing with this, what he saw, as semantics. He knew her heart. He knew though that Elizabeth wasn't one to shy away from things that were difficult. Henry understood that she was doing this because she felt that she needed to, so as hard as it was, he remained silent.

The stillness of the night started to pull Henry into sleep. He was just dozing off when he heard Elizabeth whisper, "I love you, Henry." He would have questioned if it was just a dream, but he felt her entire body relax against him.

"And I, you. always," he murmured back and they slept.


End file.
